The Soft Bigotry of Low ExpectationsFrom Andrew Sullivan last week:
Sully, pay attention: this is how he does it: ***** Tbogg updates us on Peggy Noonan's appearance on "Jeopardy":
Indeed. ***** The good Roger Ailes eludicates Mickey Kaus's stand on what went wrong at Abu Gharaib:
Indeed. ***** Peanut at Sadly, No! provides some captions to those infamous Abu Ghraib photos, and then poses some important questions about culpability:
Read the whole thing. ***** A Case For Staying the Course in Iraq Somebody else wrote something about this with which I agree. And here are some amplications of what they said. First, we need to show the world that we are the toughest dude in the hood, and that you don't wanna be dissin' us, even if you're a big shot dictator with tons of nonexistent WMDs. Second, we couldn't leave in power a guy who HATED us. That would just encourage other countries in the region to not like us. Third, invading Iraq showed Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia that they shouldn't be dissin' us. Okay, this is admittedly the same point as the first one, but this time I'm not afraid to name names! And sure, the messages that Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia may be getting from the invasion could be different from the ones we're trying to send them, but hey, it's better to take action and totally screw things up than to stop and make plans, and let them diss us while we're doing it. Fourth, we thought that over time a "de-Saddamized Iraq" would be a showplace of democratic (with a small "d", mind you) values that would convince the rest of the Middle East to throw out their dictators and stop being terrorists. Sure, we were all high when we thought it, but it's still a good reason for going to war. So, we need to stay the course. This is a process, not an event (forget you ever saw those "Mission Accomplished" banners). We can turn over sovereignty to Iraq on June 30, but we're going to be fighting this war for the rest of the century (and paying for it for twice that long). Which is why we have to keep fighting -- so it (the lives, the monetary costs, the squandering of world-wide good will) will have all been worth it, even it it ends up costing us way more than it was worth in the first place. There is a name for this kind of logic -- you can look it up.
So, see -- we're on a roll! We wouldn't want to quit while we're on a winning streak! In conclusion, our goal should be a "self-governing Iraq, under a legitimate government and a reasonable constitution." Even if we have to kill them all to reach that goal. ******* See, Andrew, that's how he does it. The above took me less than twenty minutes to research and write (they don't call him "InstaPundit" for nothing). Anyway, Glenn announced last week that he had bronchitis or something similar. James Lilleks urged him to knock off the grueling blogging for a while:
"Instapundit in a nutshell" -- so many jokes, so little time. But Glenn did basically take the weekend off, saying he was doing it for Lileks. And then today, Lilkes and Sullivan both indicated that Glenn had showed them the light, and they were going to lighten up on the blogging. Well, Lileks said that he had to stop writing columns for a week upon penalty of law (proof that the system works), and that was thinking from taking a break from blogging too:
James, if you want to work this way this FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, you won't get any complaints from me. And Sullivan says:
Yeah. We'd sure hate to lose him to cut 'n paste fatigue. So he too should take off a year or so, to rest up. You know, for the good of the world. And then Andrew reminds us of HIS enormous contribution to literature:
Are those original words, or reader letter words, "awards" words, quoted words from other bloggers and journalists, words also used in his Moonie Times columns, etc.? I can hardly wait for Seb from Sadly, No! to get out of the hospital and figure this out.
But Andrew, we are at war! If you decide to give up the blogging, however will this nation continue the fight against terror? After all, your powerful words have singlehandledly taken out several enemy strongholds, killed half a dozen members of al Queda's top leadership, and re-opened scores of Iraqi schools, hospitals, and prisons. It's your DUTY to keep blogging -- your President (who is backing that FMA, by the way) is counting on you. And then Glenn weighs in on Lileks' post ("as even Lileks himself notes that blogging can start to feel like a "blogligation," not a hobby. I don't want that") and then on Sullivan's:
Okay, since that "Blog Fatigue" post, Sullivan has posted:"Quote for the Day," which is a cut n' pasted chunk of somebody else's work, a 24-word item about a Kerry/McCain ticket, a 215-word post called "Your Turn," in which he says that his readers have opinions too -- and then eight lengthy reader letters (well, since three of the letters are duplicated, only five unique reader letters). So, to sum things up for Glenn, since that post about blog fatigue, Sullivan has posted about 250 original words. Get that man a glass of water, because he's on fire! In conclusion, I too feel crummy, and could use a vacation. But if Reynolds, Lileks, and Sullivan are going to take a break from blogging for the week, I figure this is my chance to RULE THE WORLD! And besides, I have my blogligations, and there's a war on, you know. 11:18:08 PM  |
Entertainment News1. An E! headline proclaims "Van Helsing" Slays Olsen Twins. Now that's a movie I would pay to see. 2. Guess Who's Getting Censored. Per the NY Times, the new FCC enforcement is making radio and TV execs skittish, and recent objects of concern have included "Masterpiece Theater," "Antiques Road Show," Elton John's "The Bitch is Back," and Rush Limbaugh's radio show. 3. NBC is accusing Fox of ripping off their new reality boxing show before it's even been aired. Fox bid on the series "The Contender" (which will be hosted by Sylvester Stallone), but lost out to NBC. So NBC developed "The Next Great Champ," a show with a similar premise, to be hosted by Oscar de la Hoya. Mark Burnett, the producer of "The Contender" (and "The Apprentice" and "Survivor") told the NY Times that he's pissed, but isn't going to sue Fox because it does no good.
No, Mr. Burnett (and NY Times editor), the courts are LOATH to do anything about this -- and you LOATHE Fox (but claim that you are still good friends with Mike Darnell, Fox's reality programming chief).
You know, THAT would make a great reality TV show: "Celebrity Hate Fox Factor." It would involve well-known people beating up Fox execs. Even more fun would be "Pummeling Fox News Celebrities Factor," where regular folks could physically express their annoyance at Fox News' on-air "talent," starting with the host of "The O'Reilly Factor." And while there's talk about ways to prevent idea theft (such as requiring the networks to sign confidentiality waivers), nobody really believes that anything can be done about it, because plagiarism is what makes the reality TV world go round.
Won't somebody please think of the starving producers? Anyway, I think Davies' idea of a reality show about wife swapping sounds fabulous -- I'm just surprised nobody has thought of it before now. And along those lines, I have a few ideas of my own that I wish to pitch to the various network programming departments:
Anyway, just a few ideas -- steal them and I'll have Sly Stallone beat you up good! 1:23:15 AM |
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